Japan is poised to overtake Germany and Italy to become the world's second-biggest market for solar power as incentives starting July 1, 2012 drive sales for equipment makers from Yingli Green Energy Holdings Co. to Kyocera Corp. Industry Minister Yukio Edano recently set a premium price for solar electricity that's about triple what industrial users now pay for conventional power. That may spur at least $9.6BN in new installations with 3.2 gigawatts of capacity, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast. The total is about equal to the output of three atomic reactors. "The tariff is very attractive," said Mina Sekiguchi, associate partner and head of energy and infrastructure at KPMG in Japan. "The rate reflects the government's intention to set up many solar power stations very quickly." Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's effort to cut dependence on atomic energy that provided about 30% of Japan's power before the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in 2011 will help a solar industry suffering incentive cuts across Europe.
